Floating pickup attachment for harvesters



G. W. PEARSON FLOATING PICKUP ATTACHMENT FOR HARVESTERS Filed Dec. 21, 1946 Aug. 1, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet-1 Aug. Al, 1950 G. w. PEARsoN FLoATING PICKUP ATTACHMENT EoR HARVESTERS Filed Dec. 21. 194s 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented ug. 1, `195C* FLOATIN G PICKUP ATTACHMENT FO HARVESTERS Gilbert W. Pearson, Moline, Ill., assignor to Intex-national Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 2i, 194s, serial N0. 717,767

This invention relates to a new and improved floating pick-up attachment for harvesters and has for one of its principal objects the provision of a pick-up pivotally attached to the forward end of a harvester platform and extending forwardly thereof a relatively long distance.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a pick-up attachment for harvesters which is arcuately oatable about the forward end of a harvester platform and counter-balanced therewith so that upon striking any obstruction or great quantity of grain the pick-up will normally yield upwardly. i

A further object of this invention is to provide an elongated pick-up attachment spaced considerably forwardly of the regular harvester platform and having means interposed between the pick-up and the platform for carrying grain and straw from the pick-up to the platform.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pluralityV of paddle type feed rolls in association with an arcuately floatable pick-up attachment to permit relatively greater movement by the pick-up attachment.

@ther and further Vimportant objects of this invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification `and the `accoinpanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the floating piclrup attachment for harvesters; and

Figure 2 is `a top plan view of the device as shown in Figure 1.

As shown in the drawings, thereference numeral Ill indicates generally a platform of a harvester such as a harvester thresher. In recent years the over-all design of harvester thresher platforms has beenchanged considerably. Heretofore the platforms were relatively horizontal and were pivoted at their rear ends in substantially the same horizontal plane occupied by the Vforward end of the platform. With such a construction, it was possible to xedly attach a pickup at the forward end of the `platforrnvand rely solely on `the arcuately swinging movement of the entire platform for variations in ground contour and on occasions when the implement struck an obstruction. However, the present harvester threshers have what is called a scoop shovel type of platform having a relatively steeply inclined back portion and hinged at its rear a relatively great distance above the ground line and also very much above the forward end `of the platform. From this it willbe seen that a pick-up attachment rigidly fastened to the forward end will not be able to raise upon receiving greater quantities of grain andstraw, butrather will tend to become buried in the ground because of the high pivotal attachment of the platform.

`The platform Ill has a relatively wide forward portion Il and an upwardly and rearwardly ex- 1 Claim. (C1. 5G-364) tion I2.

tending narrow portion I2. The forward edge I3 of the wide portion II is rigidly reinforced and normally has a reciprocating cutter `bar mounted thereon. The Wide portion of the platform `II has opposed and aligned feed augers `I4 and I5 which are adapted to feed the grain cut by the sickle I6 circularly of the wide portion II `whereupon it is delivered to a position adjacent the narrow upwardly `and rearwardly extending por- When a pick-up attachment is used on a harvester thresher the purpose is to pick-up grain previously out and laid in windrows. It is obvious, then that the sickle or cutter bar I6 does not function in its usual manner.

As best shown in Figure l, an elongated supporting structure or frame member I1 is pivotally attached at is to the reinforced forward edge I3 of the platform I0. The frame member extends forwardly and downwardly from aground engaging runner I9 and continues upwardly and thence rearwardly as shown by theportion 20 to a hinge attachment at ZI with an extensible arm member 22. The arm 22 is pivotally attached at 23 to a lug member 24 fastened to the upper rear wall 25 of the wide `portion `II of the platform Ill. The arm 22 consists of a sleeve member 26 and a telescoping rod 2l slidably engaging the bore ofthe sleeve 26. As the frame member I? floats o1' arcuately `swings about its hinge I6 dependent upon the contour of the ground and the runner or skid I9 in engagement therewith, the rod member 2l of the arm 22 telescopes more or less the sleeve member 26 of the arm 22. Hence, when the frame member I'I swings upwardly the rod 2l projects further withinthe sleeve 26 and when the frame member Il moves downwardly the rod member `'27 is Withdrawn from the sleeve 25. i

A spring 28 normally urges greater telescoping of the rod 21 within the sleeve 2B. The spring 28 is attached at its lower forward end to a lug 29 fixedly attached to the rod 2l, and the rearward upper end of the spring is attached to an angle member 3! iiXedly attached to the sleeve member 2li. As shown in Figure 2, the spring balanced elongated frame member I 7 is duplicated on both sides of the wide portion II of the platform I `and inasmuch as both parts are identical and symmetrical about the center of the pick-up attachment, similar numbers will be assigned to identical parts on the opposite end of the machine.

In each of the frame members II a longitudinally extending track member `3l is rigidly held spaced above the groundengaging runner portion I9. `Support members 3i? and -33 are adapted to carry the forward and rearward ends respectively of the track 3|. A pick-up cylinder 34 mounted `on a shaft 35 `is positioned between the spaced frame members Il, `Ora. the outer ends of .tion Hof the platform I9.

3 the shaft 35 are roller members 36 which are adapted to engage the track members 3|. In order to maintain the rollers 35 in engagement with the track 3| a bail member 31 is riveted or otherwise attached at 38 and 39 to the forward and rearward upwardly extending supporting` members 32 and 33 respectively. The bail 31 extends upwardly and over the track 3|. The top 40 of the bail 31 is parallel with the track 3| and is spaced from the track a distance which is just enough to receive the roller 36 to thereby keep the roller closely confined.

The pick-up cylinder is provided with a plurality of radially extending spring ngers 4|. The construction of the pick-up cylinder and its spring fingers has not been shown in detail as it 'does not constitute invention. The pick-up ernployed is shown in the patent to Raney et al. 1,815,327 dated July 21, 1931. The cylinder 34 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure l and indicated by the arrow 42. A driven shaft 43 journally supported in the frame members carries a sprocket 45 which imparts drive to a chain 41 extending forwardly around a sprocket 52 on the shaft 5|. A second smaller sprocket fastened to the shaft is thereupon driven in Aa clockwise direction and imparts drive to a chain 44 which extends forwardly around a sprocket 46 associated with the pick-up cylinder 34. An idler sprocket 64 engages the chain 44 to hold it taut. The cylinder shaft 35 is carried on spaced arms or side plates 48. These arms are hingedly attached to the shaft 43 which is carried on the forward end of the platform and the pick-up cylinder' 34 is permitted arcuate movement upon corresponding movement of the arms about the shaft 43. The hinge attachments of the frame members l1 and the pick-up cylinder 34, namely I3 and 43, are spaced vertically from one another on theforward end of the platform so that upon arcuate movement of these elements there will be corresponding relative movement which is compensated for by the longitudinal movement of the cylinder 34 by its roller members 35 along the longitudinally extending track members 3 l.

The frame members |1, as previously stated, are elongated. This permits magnied arcuate movement whereupon the pick-up attachment may accommodate greater amounts of grain and straw in a windrow. The pick-up cylinder 34 is relatively greatly spaced from the forward edge of the platform lo and arcuate movement about the pivots I8 and 43 will permit greater vertical movement of the forward ends of the frames l1 and the cylinder 34 without approaching an undesirable angle. In the present device the pick-up cylinder 34 has greater possibilities of continuous contact with the grain to be picked up regardless of the quantity of the grain in the windrow. The

`spring members 28 are sufficiently strong to cause the pick-up and frame members I1 to be raised when the device strikes an obstruction so that there is a minimum breakage of parts.

The elongated frame members |1 have necessitated a means for conveying the grain picked up by the pick-up cylinder 34 to the wide por- The spring fingers 4| deposit the grain at a point above a paddle feed roll member 49 which is positioned just to the rear of the cylinder shield 59. The shield 50 is in the form of spaced stripfmembers which extend alternately between the spring fingers 4|. The paddle type feed roll 49 is mounted on the vshaft 5| carrying the sprocket 52 which is drivenl 4 by the chain 41. Another paddle feed roll 54 is mounted on the shaft 43 and is driven in a clockwise direction similar` to the paddle feed roll 49.

In operation the pick-up cylinder by its spring ngers 4| picks up grain from a windrow, carries it back over the shield 5D and deposits the grain on the paddle wheel 49 which immediately carries it rearwardly, depositing it on the paddle wheel 54. This last paddle wheel throws the grain rearwardly onto the platform l| into the augers I4 and |5 which carry the grain laterallyr of the platform whereupon it is carried upwardly and rearwardly and threshed by a Athreshing mechanism (not shown).

The shaft 43 has ymounted thereon a sheave or pulley 55 which is driven by a belt member 56 from the sheave 51 mounted on a shaft 58. The augers |4 and I5 are carried on a transversely extending shaft 59 and by means of a.

sprocket 6U and chain `9| the augers are driven by the sprocket 62 mounted on a drive shaft 53. The chain 6| is carried about the sprocket 64 fastened to the shaft 58 and thereupon imparts drive from the shaft |93 to the shafts 5.8 and 59 simultaneously.

The function of the pick-up attachment of this invention is relatively simple, yet accomplishes a very desirable operation. The cylinder 34 picks the grain up from the windrow and by means of the spring ngers 4| and the conveying means consisting of the paddle wheels 49 and 54 the grain and straw is walked rearwardly with a minimum of agitation so that the grain is deposited on the wide portion of the platform without losing the valuable grain kernels.

Many details of construction may be varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosed herein and I therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A pick-up attachment for agricultural implements comprising a support, a structure hinged to said support, a pick-up cylinder journally carried in a transverse position on the end of said structure away from its hinge attachment to said support, said pick-up cylinder having radially extending lingers for picking up material from the ground and depositing it intermediate the pickup cylinder and its hinge attachment, :a plurality `of transversely disposed closely adjacent paddle feed rolls journally mounted on said structure in a position between the pick-up cylinder and the hinge attachment to said support to receive ma.- terial from the radially extending fingers of the pick-up cylinder and convey it to the support, said plurality of paddle feed rolls disposed beneath the maximum horizontal level attained by the radially vextending fingers, and means for rotatably driving said pick-up cylinder and said paddle feed rolls in the said direction.

GILBERT W. PEARSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 21,571 Innes Sept. 17, 1940 998,058 Warrenfeltz July 18, 1911 1,901,092 Fisk Mar. 14, 1933 2,286,095 Innes June 9, 1942 2,353,888 vMartin Nov, 28, 1944 

